What Does New York State Want Us to Do with Our Spent Candles?
I have a confession to make: I'm a dude who likes candles.
I don't like them because of any particular foo-foo reason, I just like them because they're good at getting the man funk out of my apartment. It's my preferred solution to a bedroom that can sometimes smell like a gym locker. Also, my cats poop a lot. I don't trust plug-in air fresheners to last beyond a couple of days, and you just seem to get more bang for your buck out of a candle.
But what are you supposed to do with the spent ones in glass or tin containers that won't burn anymore? There's always still a small layer of wax in there, which gives me reserve about tossing them in with the other recyclables.
SO WHAT DO YOU DO?
Based on my research on this topic, it turns out you CAN recycle your old candles, but first you have to remove the excess wax.
Candle wax isn’t recyclable, but the tins and jars that candles come in often are. Simply remove the wick and any remaining wax. You can scoop out wax with a spoon, or try melting or freezing it for easier removal.
...yeeeeaaahhhh, I'm not gonna do that. I'm a pretty busy guy, I don't have the time to be scraping wax out of a cylindrical container.
SO INTO THE TRASH IT GOES!
While we're on the subject of recyclables, here are some things you should NEVER throw in there: